Ford V8 Model 78 Utility

A 1937 Ford V8 Utility sporting a wooden body

Key facts

Year

1937
Country

Great Britain, United States
Capacity

3,622cc
Cylinders

V8
Valves

Side valve
Output

80bhp at 3,5000rpm
Performance

87mph 0-60mph 17 seconds
Price new

£280
Owner

National Motor Museum Trust
Manufacturer

Ford Motor Company, Dagenham

Ford produced a number of V8 models through the 1930s. Following American practice, it was restyled annually, the UK versions usually following the USA by a few months. The Model 78 was available from January 1937 to mid-1938. A utility or estate car version (popularly known as Woodies) first appeared on the Model 48 of 1935.

This Model 78 was originally owned by HRH Princess Arthur of Connaught, granddaughter of HM King Edward VII. Later used to transport shooting parties on an estate at Braemar, it laid unused for ten years before coming into the Museum’s collection in 1982. It remains as found in unrestored condition.

Ford introduced its V8 engine in 1932, the first V8 with a cylinder block cast in one piece. The engine proved highly successful and was used on both sides of the Atlantic for two decades. The first V8s in the UK were Canadian built. Production started at the Cork plant in Ireland in 1933, with the first Dagenham built V8, the Model 48, following in 1935. The wooden-bodied utility models were assembled in the USA and shipped to Britain through Canada.

Rated 0 out of 5

The best known example of the utility body is, of course, that offered on the V8 chassis by the Ford Motor Co. Ltd

The Autocar
26 March 1937